Reversal: A New Hope
by mandrina
Summary: Leia Skywalker,  Tattooine farmgirl and newly trained Jedi Knight, follows her Master on a damn fool adventure to rescue Prince Luke Organa.
1. Chapter 1

Reversal A New Hope

Leia Skywalker, Tattooine farmgirl and newly trained Jedi Knight, follows her Master on a damn fool adventure to rescue Prince Luke Organa.

Luke Organa felt his father's neck, searching for a pulse. Nothing. Considering the size of the hole in the older man's chest, this wasn't surprising. Great. At least the droids had escaped. Maybe they would find the old Jedi Master the Viceroy of Alderaan had been trying to contact. He ducked back into the engine room maze of tight walkways to avoid the white armored stormtroopers who were too big to fit, felt the weight and heft of the pistol in his hand and swore to take a few of the leaders with him. He got the Colonel and the Lieutenant before being subdued by the four unarmored men who managed to make it through to him without being severely injured. The prince had a reputation as a superb hand-to-hand fighter and proved it. After the punishment meted out to the man who mistakenly killed the Viceroy, none of the troopers wanted to take the chance of using a gun and killing the prince, thereby incurring the further wrath of Lord Vader. They broke three ribs and his right arm while rendering him unconscious, not to mention the black eye and numerous bruises that would not show until later, but the medic had him splinted so his wrists could be bound behind his back before he woke up. Once awake, the 20-year-old prince was lifted to his feet and escorted to Lord Vader's presence. He limped on a sprained ankle and was in severe pain, but no one pushed him and he remained on his feet. Eschewing the quick retort, he stood stiff and silent in response to Vader's questioning. The prince forced himself not to react even to Vader's mailed glove lifting him a foot off the deck by the throat, squeezing. His vision was going grey before Vader dropped him. He was roughly pulled back to his feet and escorted to the Star Destroyer detention area to await further questioning.

* * *

The double sun beat down on the Tatooine desert as the jawa trawler pulled over the rise to the farm of Owen Lars. The older man strode out to where the jawas were setting out the droids, his 20-year-old niece following after him. After a few moments, a woman's voice could be heard coming from the depressed courtyard.

"Leia, Leia." she called and the girl returned to the edge o fthe courtyard to look down at her aunt.

"Tell Uncle if he gets a translator to make sure it speaks Bocce."

Leia made a face. "It doesn't look like we have much of a choice, but I'll remind him." The girl turned back to her uncle and the jawas. A sunbleached brown braid hung down her back from under her headscarf, flopping as she jogged back to where her uncle was haggling with the tiny droid traders. He eventually decided on a short red droid and a tall humanoid golden one. These followed the girl toward the garage, but had only gone a couple of meters when the little one sputtered and died. A blue droid of similar make was quickly substituted for the red one. She put them in the garage, lowered the tall one into an oil bath, left the lift control and a large towel within reach of the droid, and went back out to help her uncle with the vaporators on the ridge. With the restraining bolts in place, the droids would stay in the garage until she came back.

* * *

Just before the second sunrise, Leia Skywalker sat on the floor of the garage staring at the repeating message being displayed by the small droid. An older man in diplomatic robes was sending a call for help to an Obiwan Kenobi, except the message was incomplete. It ended with a younger man's voice calling,

"Father? Now! Hurry!" Then the entire truncated message repeated.

"Whatcha doing? I thought we were sneaking out." Leia looked up. The speaker was an out of breath blond girl a couple of years younger, dressed and tanned almost identically, and waving an envelope. Leia smiled at her friend from farmstead 15 and waved her in.

"Get in here before uncle sees you. We got these droids yesterday and I found this message this morning. I'm supposed to take them into Toshe Station and get the memories wiped before noon. But he says he belongs to Obiwan Kenobi, and there's this message for him. So how would the jawas get him? The big one says their last master was a Captain Antilles"

Beth shrugged, "Why don't we take them with us? Maybe they were being returned to Master Kenobi and something happened. He'll get the message and get them back and probably pay your uncle for them if he still wants them. If he doesn't, then we can run them in and get them wiped and you can say you tried. Besides, I want to hear all about Biggs, I've held my patience for 3 whole weeks like you wanted, and," she waved the envelope for emphasis, "I got a letter from Tether. His mom brought it over to me."

Leia grinned at her. "Master Kenobi's expecting me." Beth turned on C-3PO while Leia managed to turn off the message from the little droid. They loaded R2D2 into the speeder while C-3PO loaded himself. They drove off 5 minutes before Owen Lars stepped outside to start calling for his niece. He went back inside in frustration. He suspected she was visiting the old hermit, but since he knew from experience that she would be back before noon with the droids and have them out on the ridge like he'd instructed, he had no cause to complain. Let her mess up just once and the sneaking out would end.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Kenobi inspected the lightsaber that Leia had brought with her. He extended the green blade, swung it experimentally a few times, then handed it back to it's maker and put her through her paces. He even cracked a smile at the end of it.

"Well done. You're almost ready for the final tests. A bit more practice with the new saber, and we'll see." Leia tried to give him Anakin Skywalker's saber back, but Obiwan refused.

"Keep it. There will be a use for it later." Then he turned his attention to the two droids the girls had brought with them. He managed to play back the entire message as the two girls watched. It ended with a young blond man in similar diplomatic robes and carrying a pistol taking hold of the man's arm. "Father? Now! Hurry!" C-3PO provided their names, Bail Organa, the Viceroy of Alderaan and his son, Prince Luke Organa. Kenobi addressed Leia.

"Come with me to Alderaan. The Alliance needs our help to get these droids back. Those two need our help."

Leia looked doubtful for a moment, then hefted her lightsaber.

"Sure. We'll just have to drop Beth off." She turned to her friend who was staring wide-eyed at them both from her seat in the corner.

"You could hold off my uncle long enough for us to get off planet. We'll all go to Anchorhead, us and the droids will get to Mos Eisley and you call uncle to pick up the speeder. Or I'd bet if you smiled at Wolf, he'd help."

"What's wrong with me going with you?"

"How're we going to get the speeder back to Uncle?"

"Wolf. Fixer. Windy. How're you planning to get to Mos Eisley?"

"Rent a speeder."

"So you or I call your uncle from Anchorhead, park the speeder at Bigg's folk's place. No problem." She paused a second. "Leia, are you alright?"

Leia looked confused and pale. "I think. . ." she swallowed, "Right now, I don't feel so good."

* * *

On the Death Star, the prince lay in a dark holding cell, the lights and walls designed to maximize the prisoner's feelings of helplessness. He'd been moved there he wasn't sure how long ago, his broken bones treated for the ease of his captors. Now he sat up painfully as the door, almost as thick as his body, opened. Through it he could see several imperial guards taking up positions. Then the tall dark shape of Vader entered, followed by Tarkin, then followed by a spherical shape that the prince quicklym recognized as a thing that should never have been made, a droid with a database of every torture known to man, and several other races as well. He had heard rumors, but up to now had refused to believe that anyone, even the basest, cruelest representative of the Empire, would build one. His defiance wavered under the hum of the machine, and his goal changed from defiance with dignity to simply being able to not answer the questions that would be put to him. A glance at the governor reminded him there would be no sympathy here, the man was looking forward to seeing this machine in use. The prince shrank against the wall as the machine blotted out Vader and Tarkin in his field of vision, then the cell, then finally the light.

The men stationed outside the cell found any excuse to edge far enough away from the door until the muffled sounds coming through, while faint due to the soundproofing applied to the cells, could no longer be heard at all.

* * *

They found the Jawa trawler five minutes into the journey. As Kenobi pointed out why it couldn't have been Sandpeople, Leia recognized them as the Jawas who had sold the droids to her uncle. She was gone within a minute, speeding across the desert, ignoring Kenobi's admonitions that she could do nothing. She returned 20 minutes later, far more serious than when she'd left. She nodded at Kenobi.

"Let's go."

* * *

They passed easily by the white-armored imperial stormtroopers when they entered Mos Eisley. Kenobi instructed Leia to drive them by a run-down blockhouse cantina on the outskirts of town. They disembarked, shooed away the jawas from the speeder and left C-3PO and R2D2 there. Beth was doubtful, but Kenobi insisted that the best freighter pilots were to be found there.

"Only watch your step. This place can be a little rough."

Both Leia and Beth assured him that they would stay right with him. Once inside, Kenobi moved to an empty place at the bar and the girls followed him, looking for other spots. He moved out of the space in response to the words of the bartender; over to speak to a furred and fierce-looking 8-foot-tall fanged giant, wearing nothing but a bandolier. Leia slipped into the spot to order two drinks. Beth was trying not to stare at the immense variety of creatures in the bar and accidently brushed against the man two seats over from Leia. He and the hideous large-eyed creature he was talking to turned around with angry snarls, but his expression changed as as he saw what had bumped him. He pointed to his companion.

"He likes you."

Beth backed away as he grabbed her wrist.

"I like you, too." He pulled her close and smothered her protests with a drunken, slobbery kiss. Beth struggled as he groped her.

Leia noticed Beth's predicament and came over.

"Leave her alone. She doesn't want to be with you."

The disfigured human sneered belligerently at her without releasing the struggling girl. "You want to watch yourself, I'm a wanted man."

Beth complained from within his arms, "Not by me, you're not." The man ignored her and continued. "I've got the death sentence on 12 systems."

Leia retorted, "I'll be careful."

"You'll be dead."

Kenobi moved in behind them. In a calming voice, he spoke to the man, "They're not worth the effort, come let me get you a drink." The drunk gave a bloodcurdling shriek, threw Beth into a nearby table and pulled out a wicked chrome pistol, trying to aim it at Leia. Kenobi grabbed his arm from behind, twisting it in a show of strength unexpected from such an old man. The other creature threw himself at Leia, and was met with a knee to the groin and a knockout blow to the back of the head. By the time the panicky bartender managed to yell, "No blasters! No blasters!" the fight was over, both attackers unconsious. Kenobi handed the blaster to the bartender. Leia helped Beth to her feet as the beings put their table back up, glaring at the girls, but declining to start anything else. They turned back to Kenobi as he gave the bartender some money along with a pointed glance at the table Beth had been thrown into, then indicated the large furry being he had been talking to.

"Chewbacca here is the first mate on a ship that might suit us."

Chewbacca escorted them over to meet his partner, who had been watching the fun. The thirtyish handsome human male introduced himself.

"Han Solo. I'm captain of the Millennium Falcon. Chewie tells me you're looking for passage to the Alderaan system."

"Yes, indeed. If it's a fast ship."

"Fast ship? You never heard of the Millennium Falcon?" The captain was obviously insulted.

"Should I have?" the old man remained unimpressed.

"It's the ship that made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs!"

He glanced at the two girls watching him and continued.

"I've outrun Imperial starships, not the local bulk cruisers, mind you. I'm talking about the big Correllian ships now. She's fast enough for you, old man. What's the cargo?"

"Only passengers. Myself, the two girls, two droids and no questions asked."

"What is it? Some kind of local trouble?" Han asked.

Kenobi frowned, then continued. "Let's just say we'd like to avoid any imperial entanglements."

Captain Solo went into an elaborate display of relaxing into his seat. He had them. "Well, that's the real trick nowadays. And it's going to cost you something extra. Ten thousand, all in advance."

Beth started to object, "We could almost buy our own..." but Leia kicked her under the table. The old man had a slight smile on his face as he watched the trio.

Solo turned on her, "And who's gonna fly it, little girl, you?"

Beth opened her mouth to answer and Leia kicked her harder. She shut her mouth with a snap, turned beet red, and both she and Leia listened quietly as Kenobi negotiated 2000 in advance plus another 15 once they got to Alderaan. Han checked out the two girls from behind as they followed Kenobi out, smiled at a couple of pleasant visions involving either one or both of them, a further cheery thought involving getting the price off his head, and sent Chewbacca to ready the Falcon.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Beth voiced Leia's thoughts when she commented at first sight of the Falcon "What a piece of junk."

Solo frowned at her. "She'll make point 5 past lightspeed. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, little girl. I've made a lot of special modifications myself. But we're a little rushed, so if you'll just get on board, we'll get out of here."

They were forced to blast their way out as Solo realized his passengers might be a little hotter than he'd thought. Kenobi and Leia were in seats behind the pilot and the copilot, Beth hanging on the back of Leia's chair. Han spoke to Chewbacca.

"Stay sharp! There are two more coming in. They're going to try to cut us off."

Beth clung to the chair. "Why don't you outrun them? I thought you said this thing was fast."

Han fumed, keeping his attention on the nav computer he was programming with hyperspace variables and coordinates. "Watch your mouth, little girl, or you're going to find yourself floating home. We'll be safe enough once we make the jump to hyperspace. Besides, I know a few maneuvers, we'll lose them! Go strap in so I can make the jump without worrying about you breaking something." Beth backed out of the cockpit, red-faced and Han heard a satisfying thump and curse as she thudded into a wall on the way to obey him. The old man and the other girl followed her out.

* * *

Tarkin had been less than surprised when the session with the prince had gotten nothing out of the boy but screams and pleas. His idea was rather different, apply pressure elsewhere. The Death Star, upon final checkout, had been given a course that would take them to Alderaan. Now the prince, pale, haggard, and well-restrained, had been brought to the observation deck to witness the destruction of his home planet.

"You prefer a military target, then name the system." Tarkin demanded.

The prince clenched his teeth, tested the cuffs binding his wrists behind his back unsuccessfully, shifted his weight to the uninjured ankle, then let out a sigh. "It doesn't matter. You're going to destroy Alderaan regardless of whether I tell you anything or not. The Alliance will win. I just wish it had already happened." He felt Vader's hand on his shoulder preventing him from turning completely away. Luke squeezed his eyes shut and turned his face away from the explosion. Tears forced their way out despite his best efforts.

* * *

When he came out of the cockpit about a half hour later to report on the success of their getaway, Han found Chewbacca playing a board game with the little droid and Kenobi sitting on the little table at the end of Han's 'desk' holding his head like he had a headache, but commenting on the older of the two girls, Leia's, use of the energy sword. Han was impressed by the way she moved, avoiding the several remotes' beams and quickly deflecting them back to turn the things off. He thought about making a comment about hokey religions and the superiority of a blaster, but decided he'd rather watch her practice. Besides, that barfight had been quite impressive. She was a little young, but damn good-looking, striking in fact, and he suspected she could use a blaster as well. Her younger friend he wasn't so sure about; she was pretty enough, not beautiful as Leia was, but mouthy, he'd found that out, and gave no clues to her abilities. She was sitting on the floor between his desk chair and Kenobi's table, and he resolved to turn on the charm and see what information he could get out of her. He sat down in the desk chair next to her, clunked his boots onto the desk, announced to all and sundry that they would be there around 02:00 hours, and, when he was basically ignored, added that the imperial slugs were long lost and don't everyone thank him at once. The girl on the floor next to him looked up and gave him a wan smile,

"Thanks." She looked down and spoke to her hands, "I'm sorry I got smart back there." then turned back to watch the practice. He leaned over and nudged her gently with his hand.

"Apology accepted. Beth, right? Can you do that?"

She shook her head. "No. Leia's been practicing for about 7 years. Master Kenobi says I'm forceblind, so I can't learn any of this. I just get to listen to stories about the Jedi and watch."

Han raised his eyebrows at her. "So what are you doing along?"

"It saves Biggs and Tether the trip to come and get us."

"Given the excitement when we left, I make an assumption that this has something to do with the little rebellion that's going on. So how are you two going to help them out? Cook and sew?" Han leaned back in his chair and crossed his ankles as he needled her into giving out more information.

Beth frowned angrily up at him. "She can fly, as well as this stuff, and I'm a pretty decent mechanic." Her chin tilted up a little in defiance as he faced her, then she relaxed as she stared into Han's laughing eyes. "I do believe I can read your mind, Captain Solo." Her expression had turned coquettish.

Han chucked her gently under the chin. "You're cute. I'd love to go in the back and talk about it, but you're too young to play with." Beth made a face as she looked away from him and Han leaned back in his chair again before continuing the game.

"Decent mechanic, eh?"

"What? Because I'm a girl, I can't be a mechanic?" she snorted. "I'm only good for whatever you do in back? You sound like most of the sandhicks and townies we grew up with."

"Sandhicks?" Han suppressed a laugh.

Beth shrugged. "That's what the town kids call the farm kids. You did notice that Tattooine seems to be covered with sand, didn't you?"

"Must've missed that." he deadpanned.

A angry hooting from Chewbacca distracted Han from the fun he was having with Beth. The wookie was objecting to a move Artoo had made in the game. Threepio interceded on behalf of the smaller robot.

"He made a fair move. Screaming about it won't help."

"Han interrupted. "Let him have it. It's not wise to upset a Wookie."

"But sir. Nobody worries about upsetting a droid."

"That's because a droid don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose. Wookies have been known to do that."

That brought Threepio up short. "I see your point, sir." He spoke to the smaller droid. "I suggest a new strategy, Artoo. Let the Wookie win."

Chewbacca leaned back into the bench and hooted at Han, who was watching Leia again, lost in his own imaginings.

"Hey, no problem, buddy." he answered absently.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Solo's human passengers joined him in the cockpit as they came out of hyperspace into the uncharted meteor shower. They were at Alderaan, but Alderaan wasn't there. Just a TIE fighter and a small moon. A small moon that wasn't a moon. Han and Chewbacca put the Falcon in full reverse to no avail. Leia answered Beth's question as to why they were still going toward it, a tractor beam. Han and Chewbacca turned down the engines.

"Come on, people. I'll show you where we go." He handed pistols to each of his passengers and they all climbed into the smuggling bays to wait to see what happened.

"Lucky you had these compartments." Beth marveled as she pulled herself to sitting on the edge of the deck.

Han sighed. "I use them for smuggling."

"Bet you never thought you'd be smuggling yourself in them." Leia quipped.

"Nope, but this is ridiculous. Even if I could take off, I'd never get past the tractor beam."

Obiwan stood up from where he had been sitting and watched the door to the ramp outside. "Leave that to me."

Han shook his head. "Damn fool. How did I know you were going to say that."

"Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool that follows him." Leia and Beth had to stifle their giggles and even Chewie was suppressing his mirth as Han fumed.

First Han took out the scanning team, then he and Leia took out the two stormtroopers. They stripped the uniforms while Beth appropriated a utility belt and second pistol from one of the scanning crew. He wouldn't need it. The white stormtrooper armor didn't fit Leia well, but it would do. They lifted the droids out of the compartments, then the seven of them made it to the control room without being seen, and made quick work of the men within. The two girls investigated the contents of their utility belts and the various functionalities of the blasters. Kenobi announced that he would take care of the tractor beam if the rest of them would wait there. It wouldn't take long.

Almost immediately after the old man left, Han started complaining and R2D2 started whistling.

"He's here, he's here." C-3PO translated. Both girls joined him at the screen. "He's scheduled for termination." the golden droid added.

"Your adventure has arrived." Leia announced to Han.

"Marching into a detention block is not exactly what I had in mind." His feet were up on the console.

"But he's going to be terminated." Beth said.

Han leaned back in the chair. "Better him than me."

Leia shot Han a murderous glance, grabbed Beth by the shoulder and muttered in her ear.

"Convince me we don't need him."

Beth stared for a long minute at her, thinking furiously, then pointed at Han in exasperation.

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say. We can do this without him. You fight better than he does, you shoot better than he does, and the only thing he's got on us is height and a male voice. All we need is the stormtrooper armor for me, and since he sure as heck isn't going anywhere, I can use it."

Han recognized the manipulation for what it was, but also that they would go without him if he didn't go and he found he didn't want them to. But no way was he going to let Miss Jedi Knight know that, he was doing it on his own terms. He stood up abruptly and grabbed Beth's arm, nearly yanking her off her feet. He held her jaw, forcing her to look up at him. "I can't believe I'm doing this. She may do all that stuff better than me, but you're not much good. If I let you two out of this room without me, Miss Jedi Knight may come back, but you won't and then I'll have to go rescue you. I should probably kill you myself and do the Rebellion a favor." He scowled, then pulled her into his arms for a deep kiss, long enough to satisfy his curiosity and short enough that he let go before she recovered enough to hit him. The wookie howled.

Beth's defiance faltered. "What was that for?"

"Luck. You're going to need it. I hope there are two sets of binders around here. We'll need one set for Chewie and one for you, since there ain't no other undamaged armor, not that you're big enough to wear it. She's not big enough to wear it. Try not to let them look loose. And take off that belt." Leia grinned at her and slipped the helmet back over her head, making a thumbs up at the younger girl while Han wasn't looking. Beth made a face, then smiled back. Once Han had put the binders loosely on her and the Wookie and tossed a rifle to Leia, they headed out, leaving orders for the droids to be careful.

* * *

Leia could barely see through the helmet, Beth and Chewbacca tried to look captured, and Han managed an air of command over the motley crew. They reached the detention block without incident. They were met at the door by a tall, grim-looking officer.

"Where are you taking these ...two?" He paused, looking Chewbacca over. Han answered,

"Prisoner transfer from Cell Block 1138."

"I wasn't notified. I'll have to clear it." Beth saw the expression on the two guards' faces that he waved over and was suddenly quite scared. As the guards moved over to take control of the 'prisoners', Han yelled "Watch out, he's loose." Chewbacca threw one of the guards aside and caught the rifle Han 'lost control of in his direction, while Beth hit the floor, catching the pistol that Leia 'dropped'. Han had shot two of the four before the others realized that the stormtroopers telling them to watch out for the wookie were the ones shooting at them.

Beth aimed at the cameras, immobile targets, while Han, Leia, and Chewbacca hit everything else, men, alarms, and the occasional camera as well. They were all quite enthusiastic. Beth struggled out of the binders, which weren't quite as loose as Han had intended, as she headed down the detention block, looking for the number that Leia called after her. Leia started picking up guns, charges, and another belt for Beth. Han held a losing conversation with a superior who wanted to know what happened.

"We had an accidental weapons discharge."

"I'm sending up a team."

"There's a leak, big leak, give us a few moments to lock it down."

"What's your operating number?"

Han was just about to blast the console when Leia gave him a number to repeat to the voice. "TF 2451, sir. Can we have a few moments to lock down the leak, sir?"

"If I don't have a report in 3 minutes, I'm sending up a team."

"Of course, sir." Han responded. He shut off the com and yelled down to where Beth was firing at a door. "We're going to have company real quick if we don't get out of here fast."

* * *

As the thick smoke billowed into the cell, the prince stared out at this completely unexpected turn of events. For a few seconds he thought he was either dreaming or dead, he was seeing an angel backed by bright light, then as the smoke cleared, he realized it was a girl holding a blaster. She just stared at him, her mouth slightly open. Finally he stood up, pretty sure that this intruder was not going to shoot him with the blaster she'd opened his cell with, and said, "I think I like this uniform better than than the armored white ones."

Beth answered him in a rush. "I'm Beth Lepold. We're here to rescue you. We've got your droids and Obiwan Kenobi with us." "Obiwan?" he asked as she extended her hand to him, he took it with his left and pulled her after him toward the others.

Han, Leia, and Chewie headed back toward where Beth and the prince were coming out of the cell block.

"The company got here too fast. We can't get out that way."

Leia pushed the comlink and belt at Beth. "Call C-3PO. Find out if there is any other way out of the cell block . . ."

The prince stared aghast at them, the hope of rescue raised by the misidentified angel transforming rapidly into the realization that these people brought the droids to the Empire and the vision of the entire group of them, including himself, being summarily executed in the very near future. He interrupted. "This is a detention block. There is only one way out."

Leia continued, ignoring him. "regardless of how interesting. Duct-work, anything." Leia tossed a blaster across the corridor to the prince, who began to curse methodically under his breath as he joined in the general return fire. Beth clicked on the comlink.

"3PO?"

"Yes ma'am?"

"We're trapped in the detention area. Is there any other way out of the cell bay? Air ducts, anything? What was that, I didn't copy."

Threepio pressed the comlink again. "I said all systems have been alerted to your presence, ma'am. The main entrance seems to be the only way in or out. All other information on your level is restricted."

Beth heard the comlink click off on the droid's end. "He can't help us. All information on this level is restricted. It's a detention block, what did we expect?" She said to Han and Leia and then turned to look at the prince. He gaped back at them in total disbelief. He was being rescued by a quartet of idiots.

"When you came in, didn't you have a plan for getting out?"

Han indicated the two girls. "This was their idea."

"And you stupidly came in here with them?" He glanced at the two girls, whose attention was riveted on a spot on the wall between him and the captain. He watched as they exchanged glances, said "Garbage chute." together and the darkhaired one pointed her blaster at him. He moved sideways quickly as she blasted a grate in the wall. A pungent smell wafted up from it. The lighthaired one, Beth Lepold, who'd opened his cell, gave him a smile as well and made a motion at the gaping hole in the wall.

"Royalty first."

He jumped. It had to be better than where he was.

Chewbacca whined something. Han kicked him and yelled. "Get in there! Get in there, you big furry oaf. I don't care what you smell! Get in there and don't worry about it." Chewie disappeared into the opening. As he did, the time spent investigating the belts paid off, Leia grabbed Beth's gun, yanked a package off her belt and gave it to Beth. Beth flipped out the tripod, took the gun back from Leia, flipped a switch on the side of it and set it on the tripod. She pulled the trigger and a steady stream of shots flooded down the corridor, then she followed Chewie down the hole. Han kept firing, creating more smoke. Han nodded at the gaping hole.

"After you." Leia jumped in and Han followed, whooping,


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Han tumbled into a large room filled with garbage and muck. Chewbacca was pulling at a small hatchway, trying to open it. Han aimed the blaster. "What an incredible smell you've discovered. Move, Chewie, let's get out of here." Chewie ducked away from the hatchway.

Both the prince and Beth jumped at Han. "No, wait!"

Everyone ducked for cover as the bolt ricocheted around the room. Leia climbed back out of the garbage with a grim look on her face.

"Will you forget it. We already tried that. It's magnetically sealed."

The prince added caustically. "As if we've been sitting down here, doing nothing, waiting for you. It isn't going to take them long to figure out where we went."

Beth was looking about the room nervously. "It could be worse. Threepio. Come in Threepio." There was no answer. For some reason he didn't have the comlink on yet.

A low inhuman moan drifted up from beneath the garbage.

"It's worse." Han said.

Leia backed up a on a pile. "There's something alive in here!"

"That's your imagination." Han said, not believing his own words.

The prince jerked his leg back as he stood in the muck. "Something just moved past my leg! Look! Did you see that?"

"What?" Beth searched, but didn't see anything.

A slimy tentacle wrapped itself around Leia's leg and pulled her under the murky water. Han searched the water. "Kid! Leia! Leia! Leia!"

Leia popped up suddenly with a membranous tentacle wrapped around her neck. Beth splashed toward her. "Leia!"

The prince extended a long pipe to her as she thrashed. "Grab this."

Leia grabbed at the pipe and missed. "Shoot it, will you. My gun's jammed,"

Han searched for something to shoot at. "Where?"

Leia wrestled with the tentacle. "Anywhere." and toppled over, pulled back under by the creature as Han shot downward.

Beth dived for where her friend had gone under. "Leia! Leia!"

A large clunk was heard, large enough to make the room and walls shudder. With a rush of bubbles, Leia surfaced gasping next to where Beth was standing.

"Help her." The prince waded over to help Beth stand Leia up. The tentacle was gone and Leia was sputtering and choking.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, it let go of me and disappeared..." Leia looked about the surface of the muck nervously.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Han could feel the room shiver.

"The walls are moving!" Beth tried to clamber up a pile of trash and slid back down. The prince pushed the long pole at Leia.

"Don't just stand there. Try and brace it with something. Help me."

"Wait a minute! Beth." Leia divided her attention between the prince and Beth.

"I'm trying. Threepio. Come in, Threepio! Threepio! Where could he be?" Beth gave up trying to climb the garbage heap and concentrated on the comlink. "Threepio! Come in, Threepio! Threepio!"

The metal pole snapped.

Han attempted to boost Leia up on the garbage. "Get to the top!"

"I can't!" She couldn't stay there.

"Where is he? Threepio! Threepio! Where are you?" The muck was almost to Beth's shoulders and she was wet through.

Han kept trying to boost Leia up. "One thing's for sure. We're all going to be a lot thinner. Get on top of it!"

"I'm trying." Leia snapped. The prince managed to get on the side of the pile and pull Leia up with him.

The comlink beeped. "Are you there, Mistress?"

"Threepio?" Relief washed over Beth upon hearing the droid's voice.

"We've had some problems. . . . ." Threepio was about to begin a conversation.

"Shut up and listen to me. Shut down all the garbage mashers on the detention level. Do you copy? Shut down all the garbage mashers on the detention level." Beth waited five seconds. The walls were still moving. She was insanely grateful that there wasn't anything impaling her yet. A few seconds longer and there would be. She shouted into the comlink as Han pushed in behind her and tried to pull her up out of the muck.

"Shut down all the garbage mashers on the detention level. No. Shut them all down! Hurry!"

Threepio's voice came through the comlink. "Listen to them! They're dying. Artoo! Curse my metal body! I wasn't fast enough. It's all my fault! My poor mistress!" The voice grew louder as the rumbling stopped. The people in the garbage masher started shouting with relief.

"Threepio. We're all right." Beth could still hear Threepio mourning their imminent demise.

"We're all right. You did great!" The walls began moving away from each other. Beth slogged through the now waist-high and falling muck towards the pressure hatch where Chewbacca had braced himself for the duration.

"Hey. . . .open the pressure maintenance hatch on unit number . . . where are we?"

The prince was closer. He found the number.

"Three-two-six-three-eight-two-seven."

* * *

Beth wrung out the bottom of her tunic, wishing she could strip and wring out all of her clothes. Both she and the prince were soaked and smelly, their clothes clung to them and dripped. Her braid was covered with muck, as was Leia's hair. The wookie had managed to avoid the worst by staying up by the hatch.

Han said "Well, let's get moving."

He and Leia finished stripping off the trooper armor. Fortunately for their clothes, the trooper armor was waterproof. Han strapped on the belt from the armor.

"Girls. In the next adventure, let's skip the trip down the garbage chute."

All three turned as the prince interjected tightly. "In that case, you'd better have a plan before you go in."

Han narrowed his eyes at the boy. "Perhaps you would prefer it back in your cell, your Highness."

The wookie growled at the open hatch, moving nervously away from the open area. Han demanded in irritation.

"Where are you going?" He pointed his pistol at the doorway. All three of his human companions tried to stop him.

"No wait. They'll hear." Leia shouted. Han fired anyway. Beth simply shook her head in disgust. Han turned back to the wookie.

"Come here, you big coward." Chewbacca backed away, shaking his head no.

"Chewie! Come here." Han ordered.

The prince had finally had it. He addressed Han. "Listen. All I know about you is what the little blond girl told me, that you're with Obiwan Kenobi. Where is he and why isn't he leading this fiasco."

"Look, your Highness. Let's get one thing straight. I take orders from just one person. Me!"

"It's a wonder you're still alive." The prince retorted.

Beth tapped her boot toe on the floor and picked up her gun. "Are we leaving or are we going to stand here and fight until the troopers get here?" She turned to look at Leia expectantly.

Leia rolled her eyes at the two men and tightened the buckle on the utility belt.

"The ship's that way. Let's go." She indicated a right hand turn at the nearest intersection of corridor and headed off that direction. Both Beth and Chewbacca took off after her, leaving the two men standing long enough to realize exactly who was in charge at this point and then to run to catch up with the rest of their party.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

They found a viewing port , which turned out to be 4 levels up and the prince commented "You came in that?" giving his rescuers a glance half of admiration and half of pity. Han scowled and they continued around a corner, only to meet a squad of troopers. Han let out a whoop, attacked, and found himself chasing them, Chewbacca following close behind. Luke stared after them.

"Your friend has courage." he said to the two girls in a tone of shocked admiration.

Beth turned from where she had been staring after them. "What good will it do us if he gets himself killed?" she complained.

Leia shook her head. "They'll be fine." The prince regarded her critically as Beth asked her in all seriousness,

"Which way should we go?"

"That way." Leia answered, pointing down a different hall. They started running as a pistol bolt glanced off the wall above her head.

The chase abruptly ended as the walkway terminated over a deep chasm. after managing to not knock either of the other two over the edge of the meter square tiny stub, Beth hit the door mechanism and then nearly panicked when she couldn't find the lock. The prince calmly removed her hands from the controls, pushed her into the recess behind Leia, found the vacuum sensor controlling the door and shot it. The door, which had raised a half inch, slammed back down. THen he found the bridge extension button, and pushed it. Leia shot at the troopers who appeared at the doorway across the chasm a level above them, then looked back at Beth hugging the wall and the prince looking helplessly at the bridge controls. "It needs a password."

"Cover me." Leia holstered her weapon and started pulling a cable out of the belt and tied it to a small, but heavy power unit form the belt. As she worked on it, the other two returned fire to the troopers across the chasm. Inching as close to the edge as she dared, she whirled the weighted end of the military-issue line in ever increasing circles and flung it accross the gap. It hit the outcropping of pipes and fell downward. She reeled it in and threw it again. THis time, the cable wrapped itself around an outcropping of pipes and didn't come down.

Leia tested her weight on the line. "Both of you, come here, put your weight on the line with me." It seemed to hold when the other two pulled on the line as well. She wrapped it around her waist and her right arm as both Beth and His Highness gave her incredulous looks. "I don't see any other choice. I'll get us there, you two have to hang on to me. Put your arms around my shoulders, your Highness."

It was not a good situation, Leia would have preferred one at a time, but the door behind them was starting to smoke, and the prince was favoring his arm, holding on by himself might be more than he could do. Beth seemed to understand the situation and moved first, one arm across Leia's torso like she was riding piggyback, grabbing the prince by the belt with her free hand and pulling him up against Leia until she could hold his belt with both hands. It was not comfortable. He put his bad arm around her shoulders and the right around Leia's, and Leia swung before his bad arm or Beth's hold could give out.

The landing was less than graceful, but fortunately the swing point was just the right distance from both sides that they swung into the open doorway. Beth let go of his highness with the one hand that was also wrapped around Leia, and he let go of Leia, the two of the them landing tangled in a heap of arms and legs just inside the door, as Leia landed, throwing herself to her knees to keep from falling back into the trench. Leia used her blaster to break the line above her hand and hit the door controls, slamming the door down. Then she unwrapped herself from the line as she watched with amusement as her two passengers extricated themselves from each other.

It took a moment for the prince to realise that while Beth had managed to let go of him with one hand, she hadn't let go with the other hand. Not only that, his bad arm was still holding on to her, and neither of them had quite recovered from the idea of swinging over a chasm with their weight being borne by a girl who might be 90 pounds soaking wet. Leia finally interrupted after about 30 seconds, "You can let go now, we've landed and we need to keep going." At this point, the prince was flat on his back with Beth straddling him, and then they both finally managed to let go of the other. Beth stood and then she and Leia assisted the prince to stand.

* * *

They made it to the landing bay with no further incident, although the prince was obviously tiring. He had acquired a noticeable limp. They could see the two droids trundling over to the ship as Han and Chewbacca joined them at the doorway. A brief survey of the bay and they ran for the ship as the troopers' attention was taken by something happening at the far end. Chewbacca and Beth were at the ramp when Leia stopped running. Through a bulkhead, they could see Vader and Kenobi dueling with sabers. As Kenobi collapsed, Leia screamed and started firing at Vader and the troopers. The others were forced to fire as well and backed onto the ship. As Leia ignored the calls to 'come on', the prince fried the door control, closing the bulkhead doors and trapping Vader behind it. Leia could hear Kenobi's voice telling her to run when Beth ran out, grabbed the back of Leia's tunic and pulled her into the ship as the ramp started to raise. Several shots just missed them.

Once inside, Leia sat at the table staring into space. Beth sat next to her behind the table, patting her shoulder as the prince slid into another seat. He was relieved when Han burst out of the cockpit calling, "This ain't over yet, kids." Leia stood quickly and took one cannon as Han took the other. Beth looked at the prince, who appeared irritated that he hadn't stood up fast enough.

"Can you fly."

He squinted at her, confused. She repeated herself.

"Can you fly? Because if you can fly, let's go to the cockpit and you can help Chewbacca if he needs it, because I can't fly."

"Oh." He levered himself out of the seat with his good arm and Beth followed him to the cockpit, where he proved to be of able assistance to the wookie.

Only 4 fighters came after them and they took them out fairly easily. Leia agreed with the prince and Beth agreed with her. It was obvious. The Imperials let them go, which meant there was a homing beacon on board. Of course Han obstinately denied the possibility.

The prince shrugged. "If we can find a flaw in the data, then hopefully it won't matter."

Leia turned to him. "Is that what R2 has in him, data on the station?"

He nodded. They all found seats in the living quarters except the prince who stood irritably, still favoring his leg. Chewie sat at the desk and stretched out. Han Solo parked himself next to Beth at the table and clapped her on the shoulder. "Once you take the safety off, you aren't a bad shot." The glare she gave him could have frozen steam. The prince forced the annoyed look off his face while Leia cracked a smile. The prince addressing them all, his tone downright imperious.

"Please, the only names I was able to catch was Beth Lepold, Leia, and Chewbacca. And the dead man was General Kenobi?"

Leia answered him. "Leia Skywalker, Beth Lepold, Captain Han Solo, and his copilot Chewbacca, and yes, that was Master Obiwan."

"Thank you for trying to rescue me."

The backhanded insult in the appreciation irritated Han. "Trying? It looks like we succeeded, your Highness."

"They could have sent hundreds of fighters after us and they sent 4. We should never have gotten much further than out of the garbage masher, but we met very few troopers considering how many they could have used. How many shots missed us? We were allowed to escape so we could lead them where they want to go, since they couldn't get it out of me."

"Then why are we leading them there? Why not try to go somewhere else?" Leia wanted to know.

"That thing can and has destroyed a planet. Anywhere we stop is in danger of Alderaan's fate. Our best hope is to get there with enough time to make a plan. Otherwise, we might as well turn around and go back." The imperiousness had changed to just plain tired. "How long til we get there?"

Han's tone was slightly caustic. "If your coordinates are correct, just about 24 hours."

"Fine. Can I know little more about you. I want to know about Miss Skywalker and her direction sense and door-closing abilities." He sat down at the table with them and tried to concentrate.

"My father was a Jedi. Obiwan Kenobi has been training me for the last 7 years."

"Leia Skywalker, right? That would make you Anakin Skywalker's daughter, then."

"Yes. I was raised by my aunt and uncle. My uncle bought your droids. The sale was traced."

The prince nodded sympathetically. "I take it you weren't home."

"No." The prince turned his attention to Beth, looking her over critically, dreading a positive response. "Are you Jedi-trained as well?"

"No, your highness, Master Kenobi said I'm forceblind. I just like the stories."

"I see. And what were you planning on doing now."

"Master Kenobi, Beth and I were planning on staying after we delivered the droids. As for Captain Solo and Chewbacca, we chartered their ship to get us to Alderaan." Leia answered

The prince considered the two young women in their worn, sun- and windbeaten clothes, then spoke carefully, for they were already all irritated as much with him as he was with them.

"Getting someone to run an imperial blockade is an expensive proposition. Is he still owed any money?"

Leia appeared embarrassed. "15 thousand."

The prince nodded. "If we survive the next day, he'll be paid. I've seen some of what you can do, is there anything in specific you had in mind?" He was trying not to irritate them.

Leia's eyes flashed, she read an insult, and she answered angrily. "I can fly. I understand that several fighters are very similar to T-16s. Beth can fix engines." Han eyed Beth skeptically. Leia continued more calmly.

"Both of our boyfriends from back home attended the Academy. Hers already joined the Alliance. Biggs is working on it, Biggs Darklighter, wanted to be a pilot. We're saving them the trip to come get us."

The prince considered a moment, then shook his head. "Biggs, he's been there awhile. Up and coming hero. He said he had a girlfriend at home, never said much about her, did he know you were a jedi?"

"No, I was going to tell him everything when we got there. Looks like he wasn't ready to tell me everything either."

"Safer that way, sometimes." He then addressed Beth. "And your young man's name?"

"Leroy Commins. Everyone calls him Tether."

"Tether." His expression left in doubt whether his opinion of Beth or his opinion of Tether had changed. "So you're the mechanical genius/sweet young thing he left behind. He'll be very glad to see you." Then he winked at her and Beth's face turned pink. The prince continued, smoothly changing the subject. "How did he get the nickname Tether?"

"A stupid stunt involving him and his brother, 2 skyhoppers, a tether rope, and Beggar's Canyon about 6 years ago. The boys walked away. The skyhoppers were totalled. He was the one in back."

"So that's why he would never explain it." The prince smiled, really smiled for the first time in days, and the entire area lit up. Both girls noticed how handsome he really was, mucky clothes, black eye, bruises, and all. It was catching, too, Han thought, because first Beth, then Chewie, then Leia, then he himself, started to smile back.

Leia moved to push her hair off of her face. It still had muck in it, too. But her stomach was rumbling as well. "Captain Solo, I saw a shower in there earlier. Would you mind if we took turns using it? I'm sure Beth and his HIghness are pretty uncomfortable by now."

Han nodded. "I have enough changes of clothes for you all to be decent while we make one load of laundry out of all our clothes. We can negotiate showers and eating."

The prince's smile faltered in favor of a hopeful look at the mention of food. "Real food, not just little dry squares?"

Han nodded. "Of course, real food. Think a Wookie would eat anything else?" Chewbacca laughed in agreement. The prince started to stand up again, but Leia stopped him.

"Let us get it for you. By the way, just how much pain are you in? I'm sure Captain Solo has a med kit around here." She pushed on his left foot with hers and he gritted his teeth as he denied the pain.

"Then maybe I can show you something Master Kenobi taught me. It's a Jedi healing trance. I think you're strong enough to hold it on your own. Want to eat and take a shower first?"

"Eat, definitely." Han placed a tray in front of him and he ate quickly as the others fetched their food and Beth headed off for the first bath. He hadn't eaten since he'd been moved around on the Death Star three days before and he hadn't realized he was ravenous. When he was done showering, which did wonders for his comfort level without relieving any pain at all, Leia repeated the instructions to lean back and relax. He did so slightly distrustfully and closed his eyes as Leia laid her hand on his cheek. The contact was made and she showed him what to do, then, to her surprise, he put himself in immediately.

"What did you do to him?" whispered Han.

Leia sat back down. "You don't have to whisper. I showed him how to heal himself." She shook her head. "I sense lots of potential in him. I expected to have to actually put him in, but he took what I showed him and did it himself, that fast. For an ordinary person, I'd have to stay in the trance with them." Han watched her head off to the shower with an attitude of awe. Beth sat eating between Han and the prince, completely unimpressed with the entire operation.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Han landed the Falcon on the green moon of Yavin. They were met at the ramp by a large landspeeder and the techs loaded R2D2 on it as the rest of them boarded. Han was subdued, the prince was far more in control now. The trance had removed the limp, the bruising was disappearing rapidly, and he was moving his right arm more, Leia noticed. He didn't seem to be in pain either. A clearing at the front of a huge pyramid held a small but noisy group of humans that quieted upon the landspeeder's approach. The prince disembarked before the speeder stopped moving completely, to be embraced by one of the older men.

"We had feared the worst when we heard about the ship and. . ." the man paused.

The prince nodded. "We will have to put off mourning for the time being, General. Hopefully the information in the R2 droid will prevent such things from happening again. I expect that they will have traced us by now, and be on their way here."

Han opened his mouth to protest, but was elbowed into silence by both Leia and Beth, one on either side. Then they were treated to a sight unlikely to ever be repeated. Several techs arranged themselves around the small droid, hoisted it onto their shoulders and carried it into the pyramid, probably the first and last time the two girls would ever see a droid being carried respectfully by men. C3PO followed the group carrying R2D2. The prince moved off with the General's group while another person appeared to take Han and Chewbacca to arrange quarters for the Falcon, leaving Leia and Beth standing alone in the clearing, feeling somewhat confused. They looked at each other, then around a bit, and were about to head into the pyramid unescorted when a voice asked from behind.

"Are you two the new volunteers that came in with his Highness?" They turned in unison to see a young brown-haired man with a ready smile, wearing the base jump-suit of a pilot.

"I'm Wedge Antilles and I'm supposed to take you over to the Deck Officer to figure out where you belong." He extended a hand in greeting.

Leia shook the proffered hand, then Beth did. "I'm Leia Skywalker and this is Beth Lepold and yes, we did come in with His Highness. Would it be possible to find out where a couple of pilots are?"

Wedge flashed a brilliant smile and pulled out a comlink. "Who're you looking for?"

"Biggs Darklighter and Tether Commins."

Wedge spoke into the comlink. "They'll meet us at the Deck Officer's post. This way."

They followed him into the pyramid. The inside was lined with metal and plastic walls dividing large open spaces into useful areas. X- wing and Y-wing fighters crowded a large hangar, with two elevator squares demarcated in the middle, under a crane. Wedge led the girls to a spot by the wall, on which hung a large bulletin board flanked by a chair containing a harried-looking older man writing on a computer notepad. He looked up at they approached and smiled, a toothy wolfish grin, belied by the friendly note to his eyes.

"Volunteers you've brought me, eh? And what should we feed them to, me boy?"

"I think his Highness mentioned that Leia Skywalker," he indicated Leia while reading off a notepad. "is a pilot, while her friend here, Beth Lepold, is a mechanic. Biggs Darklighter and Tether Commins are supposed to meet us here, sir"

The deck officer's wolfish grin broadened. "Well, speak of the devils. We'll see about testing these two for appropriate assignment." Leia and Beth turned to see two young men approaching quickly from the middle of the hangar, one tall and darkhaired, the other shorter, slightly stockier, and blond. As Beth lost all pretense at decorum and raced to meet Tether, the Deck Officer moved over next to Leia.

"Skywalker? Anakin Skywalker's daughter? I met your father once when I was just a boy. If you have half the skill he did, the Empire has plenty to fear. You'll do a damn sight better than all right out there." His expression was half sadness and half awe. His face cleared into a smile, he clapped her on the shoulder and backed up as the darkhaired man reached them. Biggs pulled Leia into his arms for a kiss, then commented,

"I hear you had lots of adventures getting here. You'll have to tell me all about them once all the excitement is over. By the way, did you know Beth and Tether ran off and got married and didn't tell anyone while he was there before shipping out? I keep wondering why I didn't think of it three weeks ago, when I was there. I'll have to keep his Highness away from you until I can remedy the situation. He has quite a reputation with the ladies." Leia hugged Biggs back.

"Him, when I have you? Perish the thought."

The Deck Officer broke in as Tether and Beth finally reached them. "I hate to break this up, but we have things to do. Wedge will escort Miss Lepold over to see Bull, who will check her out on the engines and I will take Miss Skywalker over to check out on a fighter."

The two couples separated unwillingly, Beth following Wedge, Biggs and Tether moving back into the bowels of the hanger and the Deck Officer leading Leia off to a simulator tucked into a corner. Leia and Beth didn't see each other again until Leia found Beth aiding the loading of R2 into the droid socket of Leia's X-wing fighter several hours later, just before takeoff time.

* * *

About an hour before the expected arrival of the Death Star, Beth found Han carrying the strongboxes into the Falcon. She watched from a short distance for a time, then approached.

"You got your money and you're just going to leave?" Her voice was tinged with disapproval.

He put the box back down and turned to face her. "I have some old debts to pay off, and even if I didn't, you don't think I'd be fool enough to stick around here." His tone was reasonable.

"You know what's going to happen here, what we're up against. We could really use a pilot like you and you're just turning your back."

"What good is money if you ain't around to spend it. Anyway," Han's expression softened slightly. "Look, girl, you ain't gonna convince me to stay. Your fella said it would be okay with him if I took you with me. Get you outta the line of fire. He and your friend and his Highness are gonna be up there getting shot at and there's nothing you can do down here, 'cept wait. You come with me, and if it works, I'll bring you back and if not, I'll take you anywhere you want to go. And you ain't that bad in a pinch, you could stay with us if it all goes bad." Beth's expression changed from disbelief to anger and then to comprehension. She smiled sadly.

"Did he think I'd take you up on the offer?"

Han sighed and bent to pick up the box. "No, he didn't, but he felt he had to try. I hear you're working on Leia's ship. Give her a good send off." He smiled, Beth smiled back, then turned to walk away. She got about 3 meters when Han called her back.

"Forgot, got a question for you, girl. I want you to look at the Falcon for me. You know next to nothing about the ship. If you were going to put a homing beacon on her, where would you put it?"

Beth moved under the ship. "Well, I'd be trying to hide it from someone who knows the ship better than the back of his hand, but probably wouldn't have time to check the outside before leaving, but plenty of time to check the inside after leaving. Therefore it would be outside, on the bottom, for quickness of installation. Probably high stress adhesive. Quick application and drying, able to handle hyperspace. Magnetic attachment you'd be able to find too easily, and pop it off, while you'd have to hunt for this thing. And it would turn off after you ceased moving for a certain amount of time." She stopped under an upside down depression in the bottom of the ship and motioned Han over. She pointed to a metal cube high up on the vertical section, sandwiched between other similar shapes. There was a tiny red light blinking on the underside of the cube. A white substance, now solid, had oozed out from between the cube and the metal wall. "Does that belong there?"

Han peered at it, hoisted himself up into the area, then dropped back to the hangar floor. "Nope. Thanks." He stared thoughtfully at her retreating figure as Beth walked away. Over the space of the hanger he could see Leia, her boyfriend, and the prince. Given the situation, there was no way he would have said it out loud, especially to Leia or Beth, but it crossed his mind that there was actually one, maybe two, reasons he'd stay, but they were both taken. He refocussed and could make Tether out, standing on the nose of his fighter, watching, as he had probably been watching the entire conversation. Han shook his head in an exaggerated fashion and made a thumbs down signal at Tether. He could see the younger man's shoulders slump as he climbed off the small ship and strode after Beth. Chewbacca continued loading the boxes, casting occasional glares at Han as he did so. Han came down from the ladder with the homing device in his hand, caught Chewbacca's glare and snarled at him. "What are you staring at, gruesome? I know what I'm doing."

Slowly, the wookie returned to the boxes, eyeing Han as he did so.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The prince was standing next to Leia's ship when Beth returned from her attempt to convince Han to stay and the subsequent argument and make-up with Tether. She almost ran into him and he noticed her preoccupation. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"This isn't a good time to be worrying."

"I hoped Han would stay."

"He has to choose his own path. We can't force him to do anything. He has different priorities, and as much as I wish it were otherwise, I really can't condemn him."

"I know. I just hoped he would change his mind." She noticed the prince's orange jump-suit. "Are you really going up?"

"Of course. Said I fly when I'm here. Plans are for 3 runs at the exhaust port. Blue Leader's got the first. Tether's his wing-man, Red Leader's got the second, Biggs is his wing-man, andI've got the third, with Leia. Hopefully, Blue Leader will hit it without any problem, but it's a small target in a big station. We just have to survive long enough for the other runs if they're needed. If I don't hit it, anyone else left gets to try. Time is going to be kind of short though. Oh, and I don't think I did this properly the first time. I've already tried to apologize to the others for my behavior." He tried to soften the tone of his voice, so the apology would sound the way he meant it, sincere. "The garbage chute was a shock. So, thanks for blasting my cell door open. You don't quite match what I was envisioning as rescue, if anything was going to rescue me, but I still definitely appreciate it."

"You're welcome. And what were you envisioning?"

"I guess I figured it would be some stormtrooper changing sides, not an angel in dirty white with a blaster." He kissed her on the forehead and walked beyond her to where the pilots were assembling for the briefing. Beth watched him go openmouthed, then her attention was caught by Bull, who tossed a spanner at her.

"Things to do, girl, things to do."

She gripped the spanner and climbed into the cockpit as directed. Way too many things to do and not nearly enough time.

* * *

By the time the briefing was over, Leia understood what was going to happen. They were going to fly up there, into the mouth of the dragon, attempt to hit the one spot where a scale was missing, and slay it. That was the plan. More likely, they would all die one by one, and then their friends and loved ones, as well as the entire physical moon, would die in one great blinding explosion. If Han wasn't far enough away by then, he would go with them. She suspected he would be that far, though. She'd heard Beth had tried to convince him to stay, without success. Leia sighed, gathered up her gear and headed over to her ship. Biggs intercepted her for a quick kiss and a see-you-up-there-let's-go-get-'em. They waved at the prince, who was heading for his own ship, and Tether, who was heading toward Leia's to say goodbye to Beth. When Leia got there, Tether was gone, Beth was helping to load R2 into the droid socket and C-3PO was watching and worrying. As they finished, Leia climbed into the cockpit, Beth handed her her helmet, shut and clamped the cockpit over her head and jumped to the floor to give her thumbs up signal and a grin half of excitement and half of terror. For a moment, Leia felt the same way, then something crackled in her helmet and she turned her attention to the task at hand.

* * *

Han and Chewbacca received their clearance to leave just after the fighters launched. Han told himself it was just curiosity as he tuned into the frequency the fighters were using to listen to the battle, but he stopped the ship within hearing range. Chewbacca didn't make a sound, recognizing that his partner was in a decision-making process that had to run its course. They sat there listening as the fighters approached the station, then the firing started, along with the first deaths.

Red 7, a red-headed pilot named Cedric, lost control when hit by a tower and crashed into the surface of the station, taking the tower with him. Then the TIE fighters showed up and the carnage on both sides began in earnest. Blue Leader, the deck officer who had welcomed Leia and Beth, searched the surface of the station, looking for the coordinates of the trench. He found it, announced his starting run with Tether watching his tail. He fired, missed, and died at the hands of a young TIE fighter pilot who was subsequently atomized by Tether. Tether lasted long enough to get out of the trench and be taken out by a tower.

As Tether died, Han cursed and turned to his co-pilot.

"Damn. They're all going to die aren't they?" He could just see Beth's face, could see Leia's when it would be Biggs's turn, cursed under his breath again, and moved to change the navigation. He noticed Chewbacca had already entered a course. He heard Red Leader try his run at the trench, also ending in failure and the death of the lead pilot.

Biggs moved out to join in other fights after Red Leader's failed run, as more Alliance and Imperial pilots died with their ships. A large black fighter, piloted by Vader himself, joined in the battle as the Imperials at last realized the importance of the target. Biggs pulled in behind Leia as Wedge, his ship damaged, pulled out and headed out of range under orders from the prince. Behind them, explaining the sudden lack of stationary defense firing, Vader's fighter pulled into the trench. Biggs and Leia worked evasive maneuvers carefully, trying to keep the firing off the prince's fighter, while surviving themselves. It worked for a short time, then Vader's scope found Biggs and Leia and Luke were alone with the imperials. Leia forced herself to keep her mind on what she was doing, but avoiding Vader's scope forever was impossible, even without the glimmers of grief that danced around the edges of her concentration. Luke was counting down to his shot with his nav computer. Leia willed herself to relax, then in response to a feeling that felt ever so much like Master Kenobi, she armed her missiles and prepared to fire just after the prince.

She aimed, ignoring the large black feeling behind her and trying to avoid its energy bolts, sensed that it had her and then a whoop sounded through the comlink, the black fighter was gone, and the Falcon was there.

"Ok, kids, now blow this thing so we can go home."

Luke fired and pulled up, reporting as he did so. "It's, it's no, no, wait she got it." and Leia pulled out behind him, both of them following the ramshackle freighter out of range and back tothe base as the explosion built up behind them into a new temporary sun raining pieces of debris into the thick atmosphere of the gas giant and its life-laden moon.

* * *

The scene in the hangar was a combination of wild celebration and intense mourning. Beth unclamped the cockpit over Leia's head and helped her out of the fighter. Once on the floor, they hugged each other fiercely.

"It was worth it, it was worth it." Leia was repeating into Beth's shoulder, and Beth repeated it back, neither one really certain, but sure if they repeated the mantra often enough, it would become true. The wild celebration quieted a little as it reached them, but only slightly, just enough to allow Han and the prince to each hug Leia and Beth, and for Chewbacca to nearly flatten Leia with his congratulatory back slap.


	9. Chapter 9

CHapter 9

A few hours later, Luke walked through the hangar. The ships had been put away, the equipment sat, ready to be loaded away, or broken out if needed. Here and there, more often than he had realized, an empty spot broadcast the non-return of a pilot, and in one here and there, someone would stand for a few moments, and then leave. He had seen Han take Leia into the Falcon awhile ago, their demeanor that of those who intended to spend a few hours either crying or providing a shoulder upon which to cry.

The prince found the empty spot he was looking for and found within it what he expected. Beth was sitting there, clutching Tether's duffel, staring blankly into the distance. He stared down at her for a moment, then took her firmly by the arm and pulled her after him. She was too miserable to object, just followed his lead as he led her through the pyramid. She didn't really react until he thrust her through a door into a small room containing a cot, a chair, and his duffel. He latched the door and pushed her down onto the cot as she began to struggle, then pulled her close to him as he lay down beside her on top of the blanket. After a few moments, her struggles ceased and she simply sobbed uncontrollably into his chest. He held her as she cried, his own tears soaking onto the pillowcase, taking his comfort from the comfort he was giving, and eventually, they both fell asleep. The last few days had been really awful.

* * *

A light knocking woke the prince up. He disentangled himself from Beth and stood up, being careful not to wake her. He straightened his clothes, realized it was a losing battle, but at least he was fully dressed, since neither of them had undressed at all, not even the boots, and answered the door. Winter and Ellie stood there, with Leia. The prince's jaw dropped and he barely remembered to step outside so the door would shut. "You're alive. You weren't on Alderaan, they said you were on Alderaan."

Winter leapt on him with a massive hug, even though she was a couple inches shorter than he was. "And we were worried about you too, little brother. We feared they'd killed you when they took the ship."

She let go and Ellie gave him a much more sedate hug, although his reaction was to hold her closer than he had Winter. He tried to kiss her on the mouth, but she pulled slightly away from him.

"Who's the girl in your bed?" THere was a slight chill in her voice. The prince started, then turned to look at the closed door. "Tether Commins' widow. I found her in his Xwing's spot, she needed a shoulder and so did I. Nothing happened, except alot of crying. That's all. I thought you were dead."

"Commins was married." disbelief tinged Ellie's voice.

"Yes, but it doesn't matter anymore. Let me get her."

Leia broke in. "Your Highness. I'll be with Red squadron, you can find me there, you don't have time to talk to me right now."

"Just a minute. Did either one of you get assigned bunks yesterday in all that madness?" Leia shook her head. "Take Beth with you and go find Po- no, find Bull, he's the head mechanic, I know Beth worked under him yesterday, he'll get you to the right place and they'll get you bunks."

Leia nodded. He'd been about to mention the name of the deck officer they'd met when they first came in, but he'd died in space during the battle.

The door remained open, Ellie having followed him in the room to hold the door open. THe prince woke Beth up gently, "Wake up, you're going to be late to work. Miss Skywalker's going to take you both to Bull, who should get you to the quartermaster so they can find you bunks." He handed her Tether's duffel as he helped her up and led her to the door. She looked confused, it took a moment for her to remember where she was, then caught sight of Ellie. She glanced between the prince and Ellie, then looked at the prince. "I'm sorry, I ruin things."

He smiled at her. "No, no, this is good, she's not dead. I wish we had the same situation with Tether." He guided her past Ellie, Leia took her arm and led her away from the room.

* * *

After the closed door meeting in his quarters with Ellie, and after breakfast which he ate while meeting with the generals he found Beth in the hangar and had a short conversation. Then His Highness went in search of Leia, Han, and Chewbacca. He found the two smugglers working on the Falcon, and managed to find Leia moping and working in the cockpit of her fighter and convince her to join the conference. They sat around the table in the living quarters of the Falcon.

"General Dodonna and the rest of the generals want to give you three medals for your part in bringing the plans here and in destroying the Death Star."

Leia's response was immediate and negative. "Absolutely not. If anyone should get them, it should be the people who died up there, not me." Han opened his mouth and shut it again.

The prince sighed. "I thought you would feel that way. The generals feel that this would be a highly effective way of increasing the morale of the people here. They came up with the idea on their own, but several others have suggested it as well, wanting to know when it was going to happen. You're right, a large number of people died up there and they deserve medals, but living recipients as well would help much more. This is important to a lot of people."

Leia appeared completely unimpressed by the prince's speech. Han glanced from one to the other, then placed his hand on Leia's arm. She looked at him

"Leia, I know you would rather not, but he's right. It may seem stupid and undeserved to you, but it is important to all these people. If it helps, what harm will it do? We can accept the medals in memory of those that died as well. But he's right, we need a celebration as well as funerals. The Alliance has had far too many of those, even I can tell that."

Leia made a face. "Oh, all right. If it's that important, I'll accept a medal. Beth should get one too."

"Council says no, we need to keep it to a small number and, if she gets one, everyone else should too, just like you said. Besides, she agrees with the council. Already talked to her. I'm handing them out, not getting one either. I missed. Three is a good number. Preliminary plans are for this afternoon. Can we do it?"

Leia sighed. "Fine. Call us whenever. I don't have anything fancy to wear."

The prince smiled. "Extremely few people here do. Most have the clothes they were wearing when they joined and any work clothes we've scrounged. Besides, we move often enough that unpacking is something that happens only for equipment. Can I walk you back to your fighter?"

"Yes." Han rose with them and stopped Leia as she followed Luke down the ramp. They spoke quietly for a moment, then Han hugged her. The prince watched them, forcibly damping a pang of jealousy. A good part of him had hoped that Leia would turn to him, he had felt an attraction, despite the inanity of the rescue, since first meeting her in the detention block, but obviously the connection had been made with the smuggler. The three of them hadn't known each other long enough to see exactly where everything would lead, but he had feelings about these things and his feelings told him that what he saw was the way it would be. Damn. But he was a prince and he would accept the situation gracefully. He waited until Leia joined him on the hanger floor.

As they walked away from the Falcon, Leia asked. "You wanted to talk to me about something?"

He nodded. "Yes. Is there any way you can teach me what you can do?"

"You mean the Jedi type training? Why do you want to learn?"

"Do you think I can learn?"

Leia stopped and turned to face him. "I'm absolutely certain that you can learn anything I could teach you and probably very easily. You seem very strong. I want to know why I should teach you."

"My father was hoping that once Master Kenobi came to us, he might be willing to teach me. He seemed to think this was important, but never told me why. But since this was so important to my father, I figure that if it is possible, I should go through with it. Master Kenobi isn't here, you're the closest thing to Jedi master that's left in the galaxy. Therefore, I'm asking you to teach me, if you're willing."

Leia nodded, softening slightly. "I see your point. Fine. I started late, and you are quite a bit older than I was when I started, so we will have to work pretty hard. It's going to be harder for me, without Master Kenobi's guidance, but I'll try."

"Thank you. That's all I can ask. I suppose I'll have to borrow your saber until I can make one of my own."

Leia stared him for a moment quizzically, then smiled. "No. I have my father's. You can use that one until you make your own. Master Kenobi wouldn't take it back, said there would be a use for it later." They continued to the fighter. Then she stopped again. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I'll be bunking with the pilots from now on though. Ellie wasn't very understanding, but I gave her the room. There's no room in the wardroom where Winter is. They'll move her eventually, but for right now, I've 'moved out.' Did you and Beth get bunks?"

"Yes, they found us a place to sleep."

'Good. Thank you."

"I'm sorry about your fiancee."

"Well, at least she's alive to dump me, I think she was going to anyhow, but I'd rather be dumped than the other option. Which is better than you and Beth got."

"At least we got to see them again. But, if you want me to teach you, we'll have to figure out a schedule of some sort. Daily sessions. And you will have to force time for practice into your day."

He nodded soberly. She smiled again. "See you at 1800. Here. OK."

He appeared to figuring that day's schedule. "Yes, 1800."

* * *

For the first time in thousands of years that spacious chamber was full. Hundreds of rebel troops and technicians stood assembled on the old stone floor, gathered together for one last time at this base, before dispersing to new posts or bases, as their leaders saw best to deploy them. For the first time ever, the massed ranks of pressed uniforms and polished semi-armorstood arrayed together in a fitting show of Alliance might.

The banners of the many worlds which had lent support to the rebellion fluttered in the gentle breeze formed inside. Centered at the far end of a long open aisle hung the banner of Alderaan, white, barred with chalcedony waves, in memoriam, the first world to give its entire existence for the defeat of the Empire.

Three figures appeared at the other end of the aisle, one massive and hirsute, one small and slender female, flanking a normal sized human male. It took several minutes for Chewbacca, Leia and Han to cover the distance to the other end. They stopped before Luke and Leia recognized General Dodonna among the other dignitaries seated nearby. The prince, dressed in the diplomatic robes of his father's coterie stepped forward as all in the chamber turned to face the dias. He placed something heavy and golden around Solo's neck, then Chewbacca's, and finally around Leia's. Then he made a signal to the crowd and the rigid discipline dissolved as every man, woman, and mechanical present was permitted to give full vent to their feelings.

As she stood awash in the cheers and shouts, Leia found her thoughts moving quickly between future and past, from Uncle Owen, Aunt Beru, and Tatooine, to the future she could see clearly now, with Han, although time would be needed to get there. The tears flowed for the past and future that had been lost over the last 3 days, a future planned for, but now forever gone. Han reached over and pulled her close for comfort as they waited for the ceremony to end.


End file.
